John Calvin Commentary Genesis 29:4

"And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they said, Of Haran are we." — Genesis 29:4 (ASV)

My brethren, whence be ye? The great frankness of that age appears in this way of meeting together. For, though the brotherly title is often abused by dishonest and wicked men, it is still not to be doubted that friendly interaction was then more faithfully cultivated than it is now.

This was the reason Jacob greets unknown men as brethren, undoubtedly according to accepted custom. Frugality is also apparent, as Rachel sometimes tends to the flock. For, since Laban has many servants, how does it happen that he employs his own daughter in a menial and demeaning service, except that it was deemed disgraceful to educate children in idleness, softness, and indulgence?

On the contrary, today, since ambition, pride, and refinement have made customs soft and decadent, the care of domestic concerns is held in such contempt that women, for the most part, are ashamed of their proper role.

It followed from the same purity of conduct previously mentioned that Jacob ventured so informally to kiss his cousin, for much greater liberty was allowed in their chaste and modest way of living.

In our times, impurity and ungovernable lusts are the reason why not only kisses are suspected, but even looks are dreaded. This is not unjust, since the world is filled with every kind of corruption, and such treachery prevails that social interactions between men and women are seldom conducted with modesty.

Therefore, that ancient simplicity should cause us to mourn deeply, so that this vile corruption into which the world has fallen may be distasteful to us, and that its contagion may not affect us and our families.

The order of events, however, is inverted in Moses’s narration, for Jacob did not kiss Rachel until he had informed her that he was her relative. This also explains his weeping, for, partly through joy, partly through the memory of his father’s house, and through natural affection, he burst into tears.